I don’t usually get on the soap box about issues in politics and religion. I’ll probably get hate mail for this one. But one of the things that drives me up the wall is the hypocrisy I see on a consistent basis when it comes to tolerance and living amiably in a society full of differences.

I was really disappointed today in another blogger. I read her blog regularly and though she and I disagree on some issues, that has never stopped me from enjoying her writing.

Today, however, she wrote a post on how terribly offended she was by an online store that placed a Bible verse on the checkout page of their website. She went on and on, whining about how indecent that was for them to force their religion on her, and how she would never shop there again because of their lack of respect for other people.

And all I could think was, Oh grow up and get over it already. What, did your eyes shrivel up and fall out of your head because you SAW a Bible Verse?

If simply being exposed to another religion and just looking at a piece of their belief system, is that offensive to you, then a) your worldview is too small and your head is stuck up your own butt, and b) you have no business living in a country built on freedom of religion.

There is the misconception going around that freedom of religion equals freedom from religion. That is entirely impossible. If you are granting citizens the right to their religion, you can’t turn around and force them to censor it and keep it in their closets in case anybody else might SEE.

While you have the right to believe and practice anything you choose, you do NOT have the right to expect censorship of others, just to keep yourself from being exposed to it. To imply otherwise is absurd.

You have the right to choose your religion. You have the right to choose no religion. You do NOT have the right to be offended that other people are believing, practicing and displaying their own beliefs in a country that gave them that right, and it is not going to kill you to witness it every once in a while.

Nobody is forcing you to participate. By displaying a verse, nobody is shoving you down on your knees and pushing a Koran into your hand. You’re simply witnessing the fact that other religions exist and there are people who profess them.

It simply comes with the territory and if you don’t have enough tolerance to be exposed to that kind of thing, consider either moving to a country without freedom of religion, or one in which everybody has the same religion as you do.

If you choose not to shop at a store that hangs a Star of David in the window, fine. You certainly have that option. But don’t pretend to be the “Victim” and try to hide behind accusations of insensitivity and lack of respect, when the only real issue is your own narrow-minded intolerance and oversensitivity.

Can’t sleep. My Mad about the recent Municipal Court adventure has now extended to my lawyer, and rather than getting some much-needed sleep, my brain would rather stay up and make a list of reasons why he’s an ass. An incompetent one at that.

Anyway, I’ve decided to try the ever popular Blog Explosion Rent My Blog campaign, where every week I get to highlight another blog and tell you all why you need to go visit THAT BLOG. Because you do.

So I was pleased as punch (sorry, my Southern comes out after midnight) when I got a bid from Jane at Jane Loves Tarzan. I have been reading Jane’s blog for quite some time now and it has been a very eye-opening experience for me. She openly struggles with bipolar and I have followed her growth and turmoils for the last several months.

AND SERIOUSLY, she can do one heck of a FOAD posting! Actually, Jane is the one who introduced me to FOAD, hence my recent entry. (See, Jane? See what you’ve done???) Incidentally, it was quite therapeutic. And her weekly FOAD specials never fail to entertain me.

So go visit! She’s worth it! (And send her some chocolate!…And while you’re at it, send me some chocolate too.)

“I’m trying to be better about actually finishing the bottles of water I open, so if you see any of my half-drunk bottles laying around, let me know.”

“Your mom’s half-drunk and laying around.”

Ha.  Five years of marriage and I’ve still got it.

Everyone in this family seems to have a few minor OCD issues. Well, except my dad, who has major OCD issues. But anyway, J can’t stand having dishes in the left side of the sink. I sort my M&Ms by color. And Button has this thing about making sure all the doors are closed on this toy.

It takes her a few minutes to go about shutting said doors, so whenever I need a moment of time to myself to finish sending an email or something, I push all the buttons and pull all the switches so that every door is gaping open and every barnyard animal is staring her in the face with defiance.

She immediately sets about the task.  Click-”Goodbye Horse.”  Click-”Goodbye Cow.”  Click-”Goodbye Rooster!”  Except there’s a short in the dog part that sometimes makes the few moments of “peace” entirely not worth it.

“Goodbye Dog!  Hello Dog!  Goodbye-Hello-Good-Good-Good-Hello Dog!  Hello-Hello-Hell-Hell-Hell-Hello Dog!”  Sometimes you can just be walking into an empty room and be accosted by “HELLO DOG!”  Sometimes we’ll all be sound asleep in the middle of the night and be startled awake by “GOODBYE DOG!” coming from downstairs.

The nice part is that her obsession is with the doors, not with the reward of hearing the toy talk when she closes them.  We recently found the “Off” switch and Dog has had a gag in his mouth ever since.

For those of you who have been reading this blog regularly, you know that I am not an avid FOAD Thursday poster. Actually, until today I have been a FOAD virgin (saving for someone special, y’know?). But today I reached my wit’s end and decided to dedicate a very thoughtful FOAD posting to EVERY GOVERNMENT/AUTHORATIVE AGENCY IN THE ENTIRE CITY IN WHICH I LIVE.

Save yourselves from the hellhole. Don’t move here. Now before we get to today, let’s take a walk down memory lane…

FOAD to the DMV whose incompetent employees wasted FIVE MONTHS of my life trying to get a stupid Texas driver license. You can view the history here, here, and here.

FOAD to the Police Officer who told me I was a liar and issued me a ticket for cutting a corner even though:

• I had no motive to cut that corner (I don’t turn there to get to work)
• I wasn’t intending to cut the corner (I was in the parking lot looking for a Starbucks)
• I didn’t cut the corner (I was still in the parking lot when he gave me the ticket)
• Had I wanted to LIE to get out of the ticket, I would have taken the opportunity he GAVE ME when he said, “I’m pulling you over for cutting a corner - did you not know that was illegal?”
• He clearly wasn’t watching me (His defense for calling me a liar was “You headed straight over here when you pulled into the parking lot,” to which I responded, “NO, if you were watching me you saw me go all the way to the end of the aisle,” to which he said, “Yes, and then you turned and came this way.” What the hell was I supposed to do, keep driving until I plowed through the building??? In addition, the car that was behind me in the intersection got pulled over in FRONT of me in the parking lot…how would that happen if I was making a bee-line to the other side?)

Thanks for wasting my time and money, Bastard.

FOAD to the Municipal Court that says one thing and does another, thinks it’s SO SPECIAL that it doesn’t have to operate by the same standards as EVERY OTHER Municipal Court in the world, and insists on hiring incompetent employees just because they need people who speak Spanish. An extra FOAD to said incompetent employee who told me something different (and wrong) every time I talked to her. Again, thank you for wasting my valuable time being assholes.

And FOAD to the DA who, just to twist the knife a little deeper, has decided to reopen and prosecute me for my deferred speeding ticket from forever ago that should have been dropped from my record completely because I paid for the deferral. Evidently, he thinks it’s legitimate due to the fact that I was issued a citation during my deferrment (see FOAD Police Officer above) that I shouldn’t have been issued, that I have not pleaded guilty to, and that has not been resolved. The entire point of holding off on my court date until NOW was to avoid this kind of thing.

I was so fed up today (see Other Post) that I came down with a headache the size of Montana and a case of IBS. And I don’t have IBS. Stupid shits.